


A new family

by MrDarkspring



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Nathanos does not die!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-23 02:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19142140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrDarkspring/pseuds/MrDarkspring
Summary: Nathanos saves a night elf and her daughter at Teldrassil





	1. family

Nathanos walked into the throne room and stopped dead. Sylvanas stood above a night elf and her child, a nasty smirk on her face and her bow levelled at the Night elf’s head. Instantly his own bow was in his hands, arrow nocked. “If you hurt her, you will be dead before she hits the ground” he hissed, ignoring the dark rangers around him with their own bows aimed in his direction 

Teldrassil, one year ago.  
Nathanos walked through the burnt ruins of the once great tree. There were no bodies, for while Sylvanas wanted the Alliance to feel the pain of their loss, she had not been prepared to wipe out children. So the civilians , unknown to all but Sylvanas and her dark rangers , had been sent through a portal to an uncharted island , where the dark lady would keep them as insurance , if things went south in the war she had started . As Nathanos came upon the remains of a village, he heard a noise, a child crying. He moved silently over to what was once a cottage and peered inside. Up against the wall, a sobbing child in her arms, was a night elf woman. She looked scared but otherwise unhurt. Nathanos looked behind him, saw the orc warriors coming up the path. Not all of them were as annoyingly honourable as Saurfang and he knew that the elf in front of him and her child would not make it off Teldrassil alive. He turned to leave but something stopped him. He could not say why, but he felt he had to stop the mother and child from been Killed. He moved through the shadows, pulling a hearth stone from his pocket, one that would take him to his private little retreat that not even Sylvanas knew about. He left the shadows and wrapped himself around the elf and her child, activating the stone before her scream could alert the orcs.

 

Shallan found herself in a small cottage, her daughter Mira asleep in her arms and the forsaken who had transported them here now standing up. She looked at him, recognised the pale face as Nathanos, the war chiefs’ champion. “Why” she asked, wondering what would cause him to save her. Nathanos looked outside, at the valley the cottage was nestled in. “Stay here, I will return shortly with supplies” and then he was gone. The cottage was fairly large, although just one level and really just one large room. There was a hearth, a couple of soft chairs and a sofa, as well as fully working kitchen and a large soft bed. She lay Mira down on the bed and wondered why a forsaken would have such need of it, or even a kitchen area. She lay next to her daughter, thinking about what had happened and then she let the tears come.

 

Nathanos returned to find the night elf curled up on the bed next to her daughter. The little girl was asleep but the woman was crying. Nathanos put the supplies down and went to her, reaching out. But then he stopped. He didn’t understand why he wanted to comfort her but he did. He settled for speaking, rather than touching. “The rest of your people live” he said “they are on an island. No one apart from the war chief and the rangers know its location and they will not be harmed”. He didn’t really know why he was telling her this or why he felt a slight sense of guilt that she had been crying in the first place. She sat up, looking at him. “Why did you rescue us, why did your queen keep them alive”?   
Nathanos sat down on one of the chairs. “They are alive because not even Sylvanas would kill children and she wanted some insurance in case we started to lose the war. I rescued you because the orc soldiers would have found you and they would have killed you. I…did not want that”. He still didn’t understand why he found the idea of the orcs killing her repugnant, so he changed the subject.

“You are in a valley in the mountains separating Quel’thalas from the plague lands. I have cleared the area of undead but it would be best of you stayed indoors and locked the doors at night. During the day it will be safe outside .There is a waterfall nearby that feeds a small river. You will be able to get fresh water from there to cook and clean in. I have brought back enough food to last you about a month and I will return regularly with more. As soon as I can, I will get you to alliance territory but for now, you will need to stay here”. The elf nodded. “My name is Shallen, my daughter is Mira. Thank you lord Blightcaller, for your kindness”. Without thinking he replied “call me Nathanos”, then wondered why he had said it. He stood up.” I must go Shallen, before I’m missed. I will be back in seven days”. And then he left. 

Seven days later, Nathanos was as good as his word and appeared back at the cottage with more supplies. He put them in the cupboards and the refrigeration box he had purchased from the goblins, then left to find Shallen and Mira. After a few minutes he heard splashing and found then down by the river, the night elf sitting on the bank, while her daughter jumped in the shallow water. The sound of Shallen’s laughter tugged at something inside him and he found himself smiling. Mira looked up , saw him, and ran out of the water to her mum. Shallen looked round in the direction Mira was pointing. “It’s ok Mira, that’s Nathanos, the man who saved us and brought us here”. Before Nathanos could say anything the young elf ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him. She looked about five years old, if she had been human. Despite the time he spent with the high elves, Nathan was not sure how elf children aged so he didn’t know her proper age.

“Thank you Mr Nathanos” the elf said. Nathanos stayed with them until the sun stared to set, then he hushed them back to the cabin, closing the shutters over the windows and then looking the door. He lit the fire in the hearth and sat down. “Mira, promise me you will never go outside after dark” he said, looking at the elf child. “Why” she asked, waiting eagerly for Nathanos to tell her. “We are near a bit of Quel’thalas known as the ghost lands and while the blood elves have cleansed it of the undead and I have cleared this valley, some creatures still remain and may wonder here after dark. The cottage is warded and they will not come to close to it, but if you are outside, they may sense you and try to hurt you. So as soon as you see it starting to get dark, you and your mother must come home do you understand”? The elf girl nodded and climbed up onto Nathanos’s lap. She put her arm around him and lay her head on his chest and he, somewhat reluctantly put his arm around her. “You have no heartbeat” she said, “are you one of the forsicken?” Nathanos nodded. “Yes I am forsaken” he replied. The girl shrugged and went back to hugging him and soon fell asleep. Shallen looked at her daughter sound asleep on nathanos and looked at him and the strange contented look upon his face. She went to pick her daughter up but he waved her off and sat there holding the child. Shallen fell asleep and when she woke up, she found Mira on the bed next to her and Nathanos was gone.

 

Over the next few months, he visited at least once a week and he and Shallen would talk well into the night after Mira had fallen asleep. Most nights he was there, she climbed onto his lap and fell asleep hugging him and Nathanos found he did not mind that. Then one week, he did not arrive until it was getting dark, to find Shallen at the door, calling for Mira. “I can’t find her” the night elf said, tears in her eyes. Nathanos looked at the sky. It would be dark on less than half an hour. “Go inside and lock the door, I will find her “he said and rushed off. He found her tracks easily enough, and followed them to the other end of the valley, getting more concerned as it finally got dark. Because of his undead eyes, he was still able to follow the tracks when he heard the skittering of a giant spider. “Shit” he mumbled under his breath and quickened his pace. Then he heard Mira scream and moved even faster. He found her trapped against the cliff face, two horrid white spiders, about the size of a horse, moving towards her. 

 

He fired several times in rapid succession, striking the first spider and killing it instantly. The second turned to him and spat its demon in his direction. If he had been alive, it would have likely blinded him, but he just wiped his face and filled the spider full of arrows. Making sure it was dead, he retrieved his arrows and picked up Mira. “Are you ok child” he asked as she hugged him, then he swore. Climbing down the cliff where seven more spiders. He turned and ran back towards the cabin as fast as he could, Mira clinging to him. He stopped twice to fire at the spiders, killing two more but the seven had been joined and now at least twenty of the white body’s monstrosities were skittering towards him. He reached the cottage and shadow melded inside. The sounds of the spiders hitting the wards echoed from outside as he passed Mira back to her mother. “I have to go and deal with them” he said “do not, I repeat, do not open that door until I tell you” and with that, he was gone. Shallen and Mira sat on the floor in front of the hearth as the sounds of the spiders on the wards diminished and the skittering they made when they moved, seemed to be heading away from the cabin. Eventually Shallen and Mira fell asleep. 

When they woke up, the front door was open and it was morning. Shallen looked outside to see Nathanos with his top off and a large gash on his shoulders, dripping with the green ichor that passed for forsaken blood. Nathanos had a dead lynx in front of him that he was skinning and slicing the meat from. As he did so, he was eating bits of its flesh and while Shallen watched, the wound in his shoulder slowly stopped bleeding and closed up. She had heard that forsaken could regenerate by eating fresh meat but this was the first time she had seen it. As if sensing her presence, Nathanos put his shirt back on and then continued to cut up the meat. After he was finished preparing the animal, he brought the usable meat back into the house and wrapped it, before hanging it in the corner. “Give it time to cure, then put it in the refrigeration unit” he said. 

He turned to look at Shallen and was taken by surprise when she kissed him, although he surprised himself when he returned said kiss. He felt a heat within him he had not felt for a long time as she held him and wanted to keep kissing her. But he broke away. “I can’t” he said, looking away “I can get you to Stormwind in three days’ time. Then you will not see me again”. Mira ran at him, hugging him. “I don’t want you to go daddy…Nathanos” she said and Nathanos felt his heart start again, at the child’s slip. “Mira, I can’t give you and your mother the life you need. This place is getting too dangerous, you need to join your people at Stormwind”. He knelt down and gave her a hug as she started crying. Shallen looked at him, tears in her own eyes but also understanding. Nathanos was right, they needed to leave here and they could not go to Orgirmmar with him. She pulled the weeping Mira from him and then kissed him gently. He smiled sadly at her and left. Which meant he did not see the two dark rangers step out from the shadows in the back of the cottage 

“So it’s true, my champion has a secret night elf family and would put them before his Queen” Sylvanas sneered, her bow still pointing at Shallen and Mira. “I do not want to hurt you my Queen, but I will end you if you harm them” he said, knowing he was going to die. “Why Blightcaller, why would you betray me, why would you stop me from ending them?” Nathanos stared at her, suddenly knowing, with full clarity how he felt. “Because I love them Sylvanas and I would die to protect them”. Sylvanas looked at him, eyes narrowing and then she nodded. The other dark rangers lowered their weapons and left the room, while Sylvanas put her arrow back in its quiver and lay her bow next to her throne, before lounging over it. “Then Blightcaller, you best take her and leave” she said, pointing to a portal that had opened near him. “Why are you letting us go” he asked, waiting for her to show it was a trick. “Because I know what it is like to have to choose between love and duty, to not be able to be with the person you love the most in this world. I would not see that happen to you” .Nathanos looked at her. “Stop this war and you may be able to change that My Queen” he said softly “The lord Admiral may yet forgive you” and then he helped Mira and Shallen to their feet and mouthing thank you, steeped through the portal 

Jaina Proudmoore felt the portal open into the meeting room and grabbed her staff, while Anduin unsheathed his sword and Genn Shifted to Worgen form. Tyrande also had her sword in hand but relaxed when a night elf woman and her child stepped through, only to tense again when they were followed by Blightcaller. “You” she hissed and went to strike him, only for the night elf to step on front of him. “What is the meaning of this” Anduin asked as Nathanos dropped his bow and raised his hands.


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathanos is in prison but things do not go the way he would have expected

Nathanos sat on his small bed, his back to the wall, and his manacled hands in his lap. He was angry and frustrated that he had been separated from Shallen and Mira but he also understood why the boy king had done so. At least they would be safe now, back with their own people. If anyone had told him before Teldrassil, he would put the life of a night elf before his own, or threaten to kill his queen to save a child, he would have laughed as he killed them for even suggesting it. But here he was, having done just that. It had been five days since he had arrived in Stormwind and in all that time only one person had come to visit him in prison. Lady Jaina Proudmoore, lord admiral of Kul’Tiras and he had taken, perhaps a bit too much, pleasure in telling her some home truths about herself and Sylvanas. She had stormed out and no one else had been to see him since. And so he found himself missing Mira and Shallen, having finally accepted that he loved them both. So deep in thought was he that he didn’t notice he had a visitor for some time, until she coughed to let him know she was there. He looked up onto the face of Tyrande Whisperwind. 

“How is it that I have a Kaldorei priestess demanding your release and her daughter crying for her ‘daddy’ “? Nathanos looked at her. “I have no idea, her father died before I met them”. Tyrande steeped closer. “The child means you, you fool” she said,” I would never have imagined I would hear a Kaldorei child call the infamous Ranger Lord Blightcaller that “. Nathanos shifted his sitting position. “Marris” he said “my name is Nathanos Marris. Blightcaller died the moment I pointed an arrow at my queen and threatened her life”. Tyrande smiled. “Shellan told us that you had threatened to kill the banshee queen, another thing I would never had expected from her lapdog”. Nathanos ignored the insult and just looked at his feet. “Neither would I” he said softy. “Do you love them then? Tyrande asked. “I do “he said back, not looking at her, “but they need to be with their own people, not a walking corpse with nothing to offer “. He looked down at his feet, trying hard to control his emotions and Tyrande stepped closer still, lifting his head by his chin and looked him directly in the eyes. “No” she said “they need to be with you. That young child has already had to go through the pain of losing one father, I will not see her lose another”. Nathanos’s eyes widened with surprise at that as Tyrande continued. “ besides I have no idea what you said to Lady Proudmoore the other day but after she left here , she kidnapped Sylvanas for two days and when they returned , The war Chief asked for a truce and today will be attending a meeting with all the alliance and horde leaders to end this war once and for all . Tyrande stood back up and a guard came in and unlocked Nathanos’s manacles. “Now I believe there are two people who have missed you very much”. 

As soon as Nathanos left the stockade, Tyrande bid him Farwell and he suddenly found Mira crashing into him, wrapping herself around his legs, holding him tight. Then she was joined by Shallen who held him close and kissed him, before pulling back, blushing and smiling. He lifted Mira up into his arms and pulled Shallen back, this time kissing her properly, a kiss neither of them wanted to end. But he was pulled out of that kiss by the feel of a familiar gauntleted hand closing on his shoulder. He turned round to look into the angry red eyes of Sylvanas. “Just remember Blightcaller” she hissed, before suddenly breaking into a genuinely happy smile, “We expect an invite to the wedding”. He had not seen her smile like that since before Arthas, then he noticed the reason why. Sylvanas’s other hand was been held by Lady Jaina Proudmoore and she smiled at him. “Thank you for telling me what I needed to hear” she said, embracing him, Shallen and Mira. Then they stepped away and Sylvanas said to Shallen “take good care of him” and they turned and headed towards the castle , fourteen dark rangers stepping in behind them , all marching in perfect formation, except Kalira , who turned and stuck her tongue out at Mira , eliciting a giggle from the young elf . 

Later that night, in the chambers Tyrande had arranged for them, Nathanos sat by the fire, in a large soft armchair while Shallen put a sleeping Mira to bed. When she returned, she sat on his lap and lay her head on his shoulder. “Do forsaken have the ability to make love “she asked him. “ We still have a blood of sorts in our bodies and it is possible for both men and women to become aroused and respond as the living do, easier if we have ingested liquids first, I don’t know the exact science behind but it seems for a while at least, our hearts started beating to circulate the blood and allow us to… “He never finished as he realised that Shallen was not listening and had moved her hand between his legs. Smiling she stood up and pulled him to the bedroom. 

Lordaeron One year later.

Nathanos marvelled at the rebuilt city before him. Sylvanas had ordered its reconstruction after stepping down as war chief in favour of Thrall and returning home. She had decided that the forsaken needed to stop living like corpses in the undercity and embrace the world above. With the help of Druid, shaman and mages, Tirisfal glade and the plague lands were cleansed and returned to their former grandeur. Sylvanas had pulled back from Gilneas completely and returned it to its former occupants and had gifted the entirety of the former western plague lands to the Kaldorei, to cultivate their new world tree. The former eastern plague lands were opened to anyone who wished to settle there as there simply was not enough forsaken to make use of it. Strathholme was demolished and a memorial erected at the point where its gates once stood while most other cities and towns were rebuilt and the nation of the forsaken was renamed new lordaeron, with Lordaeron city being its capital. 

Under city was cleaned and made less claustrophobic and dank with the use of better drainage and lighting and the embassies from the other races were placed above ground in Lordaeron itself . Sylvanas and her Wife, Lord Admiral Jaina Proundmoore spent half the year in Kul’Tiras and the other half in Lordaeron, leaving Katherine Proudmoore or Kalira in charge when they were absent and it seemed to work. Nathanos had been living in the west with Mira and Shallen when he received a summons to Lordaeron and was surprised when he arrived, to be asked to take up a position serving Sylvanas again, only not as ranger lord, but rather as trainer to new rangers. Many humans had moved to lordaeron to be with their forsaken relatives and new recruits, both living and undead needed the guidance of an experienced ranger to train them. Shallen had told him to accept and they now lived in a large manor house just outside the city where the ranger academy was located. Kalira was Lordaeron’s ranger general now and technically Nathanos reported to her, but she had become friends with Shallen and all hostility she may have once felt to the ex-lord ranger was long gone. 

He had married Shallen and officially adopted Mira. Sylvanas and Jaina had been there, along with all the dark rangers and Tyrande herself had performed the ceremony. Two years ago, at the burning of Teldrassil, he would never have guessed that a simple act of kindness would change his life forever, but as he Stood looking at the city, his wife and daughter in his arms, nathanos could not help but let a tear of Joy slide down his cheek, before he turned and walked into his home, with his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't type for toffee so i apoligise for any and all grammer and spelling errors . Niether am i any good with paragraph lengths and such like so again apogies if this is a pain to read . Im not on discord or anything but my email address is in my profile somewhere , so feel free to drop me a email if you have any suggestions how i can be less crap in my writings . Peace and love


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